In order to prevent or minimize the flexing of a boat mast when the boat is under sail, the boat is outfitted with so-called standing rigging. This includes a forestay and a backstay which extend from the head of the mast down to chain plates at the fore and aft ends of the boat. Also, sidestays or shrouds extend from the mast down to chain plates at the port and starboard sides of the boat to provide lateral stiffening. Invariably, the full length shrouds secured to the mast head are spaced away from the mast by laterally extending spreaders usually secured to the mast about one-half of the way up thereon so as to increase the angle which the shrouds make with the mast. Additional shrouds extend directly down to the hull from the mast near the points of attachment of the spreaders to further stiffen the mast.
Most conventionally, the upper ends of the shrouds are pinned to double or single leaf tangs or plates attached to the mast. It is time-consuming to connect the several such plates required to the mast and they offer considerable wind resistance. On other boats, the upper end of the shroud carries a terminal which engages in an opening of a tang anchored to the outside of the mast which fitting also serves as a spreader attachment device. Since a considerable tensile force is applied to the shroud, a substantial torque is developed at the root of the tang which causes bending and distortion of the mast wall in that area. Also, it is quite difficult to disconnect the shroud from the mast. The lower end of the shroud has to be detached from its turnbuckle and the entire shroud pulled up through the tang opening in order to separate the shroud from the mast. This can be a tedious process, bearing in mind that at least the larger boats have several such shrouds connected to the mast near the spreaders. Still other boats have internal shroud connections whereby the shroud terminates in a talurit soft eye which engages around a pin or spigot inside the mast. Such internal shroud connections are disadvantaged, however, because, openings must be provided in the mast to accommodate the shrouds and the upper ends of the shrouds lie close to the mast, both of which factors are undesirable from an aerodynamic standpoint. Also, here again, it is relatively difficult to disconnect the shrouds from the spar in the event that one wishes to paint the spar or store it away for the winter.
The aforesaid prior modes of connecting the upper ends of the shrouds to the spar also increase the initial cost of the spar because of the labor involved in making the required openings therein and effecting the required welds.